Camperless in Massachusetts...

As the title states, I am now camper-less.

I sold the Sunline for a fair price Saturday to a fellow from New Hampshire, who braved the weather to see it, and with the help of my father, loaded it on my truck to deliver to his home in New Hampshire Monday morning.

It rained and was windy, Sunday morning as I went out to go to breakfast, noticed my canoe was missing off my truck cap on the back of the old C1500 Chevrolet my father was planning on rebuilding after the head on accident.

First I had a few choice words, then went out to find it on the ground 8 feet away, the wind picked it up off the roof rack of the cap and tossed it across the ground, complete with a couple dents too.

So now Monday morning I left with my father to take the venerable Sunline camper on it's last trip with me, it was a long, hard drive, with the wind and rain buffeting the camper from all directions. Luckily we made good time, leaving at 6:15AM and arriving at the new owner's home at 9:30AM. The surprise was that the clouds broke as we got there, the sun was out and the sky was bright blue. Beautiful weather compared to the drive. So we unloaded the camper, went over the winterizing stuff and the little facts about owning one of these campers, and Dad and I left, leaving a little piece of me behind with the memories of the fun trips I had and the conveniences of a small home away from home where I went.

Of course the Sunline is now on it's 4th owner and still rugged and solid enough for years of more adventures.

I'm going to miss that camper.

It's March, been a fun few months....

First, I finally got back to blogging. I've been busy the last couple of months, and things keep getting tossed and turned everytime I turn around.

January we did a trip to the fly fishing show, the kids got to tie some wooly worms and collect more brochures. Then in February I got my tax return back, bought a new amateur radio transceiver that's more portable than the ones I use now. I also received a new phone, the My Touch Fender Edition from T-mobile as an early Valentine's Day gift from my girlfriend, then tackled the Springfield RV Show at the Big E with a full entourage (myself, my father, my girlfriend, and my daughters) We walked all 3 buildings, looked at several dozen trailers and various motorhomes, collected several brochures, and afterwards tried to go to Olive Garden in manchester CT but due to a long wait due to being Valentines Day, had to go to Hooters for dinner. Other than being a Sports Bar, my girlfriend's "I'm going to kill you" stares, and the over driven sound system with the Daytona 500 on several big screens, the burgers were good, and the price wasn't much more than going to Olive Garden for dinner.

Then the following weekend I took Saturday the 20th off, did a road trip with my father which encompassed the following itinerary:

Breakfast at Annie's Country Kitchen in Sturbridge MA
Sportsman Show in Springfield MA at the Big E Fairgrounds
Cabelas to shop for a new fly reel for my father's saltwater fly rod
Stop at All RV to pay for my new travel trailer (KZ Sportsman Classic 19BH)
Then Mohegan Sun to have the buffet, play the slots, and buy some Krispy Kreme Donuts.

Then Sunday the 21st, my father met up with my girlfriend, her daughter, and myself for a trip to Ikea in Stoughton MA. Had lunch, bought a bedroom set for the girlfriend's daughter, and a new couch for the living room.

Now it's March, got the trailer registered, in the process of selling the truck camper, and getting a couple rods ready for fishing season.

More to come with pictures as soon as I get the bugs out of the new camera, computer and tethering system.

Been a long couple of months...

Howdy, I've been busy getting ready recovering from the Christmas Season, adapting to a 5 day work week, and have come to a slight standstill on the truck camper project.

But do not dispare, as Friday January 15th to Sunday January 17th is....

The Fly Fishing Show in Marlborough MA.

Prices to get in went up, $15.00 for 1 day, add another $10 for each additional day if you buy the ticket for the additional days on the first day.

Looking foreward to it, convinced my father to take a trip and look around, plus the girlfriend's daughter is going to be so thrilled to attend (she has no say in the matter because it's a "Professional Day" at her school so I'm watching her for the day)

Plus I'll be going Saturday morning with my daughters, they have kids day run by the New England Fly Tyers, who teach the kids how to cast a line and tye a flie.

Pics will be coming.

Add in plans will be in motion for the camper project, the existing truck camper, and several fishing trips.

Stay tuned.....

Laying out the Floor Frame

The First of many parts cut to size...

And the framework laid out on the living room floor...

Starting this project is going to be fun, and later this winter the whole project is headed to a new location, where more workspace is available and the final assembly will take place.

Keep watching...

Construction has commenced....

I've been busy the last month, did a trip to Salem Ma to the Witch Museum, the Haunted Trolly Ride, and House of Seven Gables. Definately a good rest and relaxation trip. Throw in a new co-worker and two days off a week in a row, I'm actually able to work on the new truck camper project.

After getting all this literature and books about RV construction, I broke down and bought the Glen L Acapulco Plans.

After spending several weeks reading, measuring, checking, rechecking, and budgeting, I finally bought some lumber and started construction.

First thing is that you need to lots of 2x2s which are actually dimensionally 1 1/2" by 1 1/2"

So a trip to Home Depot produced a 2x14-16' for just under $17.00

Then after cutting it in half, the ripping commenced. Recommendation... Do not rely on a battery operated saw to rip 2x stock. I can get only 14 feet of rip before the battery goes dead.

But the plate vise I used to hold the lumber (capacity is 2x6) worked well.

Here's a pic.

Planning for the Future Sportsman Camper

Howdy folks, been a little while since I last posted. Been busy at work and also busy working on the plans for the new truck camper. Well I went and did something I didn't plan on. I ordered a book from England called "Travel Vans" by John Speed. Nice book, talks about European RVing and Camping trips around Europe, along with how to plan and build a RV for travel.

I read this book cover to cover several times since receiving it last month. It's well worth the 23.99L (British Pound) including the shipping to the US.

I also went and bit the bullet and bought the plans from Glen L in California for the Acapulco Camper. Nice blueprints, very basic construction, and best of all, I can build this in sections over the winter and do the final assembly when the weather is good and dry. Overal the camper will be 7 foot wide, have an 8' floor, a extended cabover sleeper making it about 13'8" overall length, and a center height inside of 6'4".

I'm also modifying the plans from Glen L, bringing the combination of Old School and New School together for the next 20 plus years. First is the plans call for the bed to be 64" wide between the tailgate opening. I've only got 60", so the first thing is to narrow the base by 4" overall. Second the overall floor is actually 8'1", so i would need to pull the tailgate off the GMC when using the camper. But with a floor length of 8'0", I can keep the tailgate on and use the tailgate as a deck or porch when entering and exiting the camper. So the camper is getting shortened 1" in length.

Other modifications include a Fantastic Fan, a roof vent over the sleeping area of the cabover, a vent over the bathroom area, rubber roof, aluminum siding, 4 corner jacks, an insulated floor, and modern windows, a modern door, and LED lighting. Toss in a 12V Refrigerator, propane heater, and possibly a hot water heater also.

And to start the project off I purchased the SMEV Sink Stove combo off Ebay, a nice little package of a 2 burner stove and stainless steel sink attached. Overall it's 31" by 13" by 5" with a sink 13" by 9" by 4 1/2". So I'm already started in planning, and will be starting construction next month.

Funny part is now I find that staying in the truck camper is more relaxing, especially when out on a fishing trip or just out sight seeing the countryside. It's like staying at a hotel on wheels that I don't have to pay for unless I stay in a campground, plus I can retire to after a long day of fishing.

Stay tuned and keep looking.

"Rolling" Fish!!! New Form of Fishing?

I was reading the Field and Stream Fly Talk Blog the other day, and Kirk Deeter was talking about a friend who was into cutting off the hook of a fly to make it hookless and fishing just to see the fish take the fly, tug a little, and have the fly come out without harming the fish. The friend called it "rolling" the fish.

Now I am all for having fun, but this sounds like it would be fun to try, especially when it's warm out and the trout are deep and you don't want to stress them by having them out of the water to dehook them.

Heck Tim Romano's wife has pictures of him stalking lizards around a pool using hookless flies at a resort down south of the border.

Maybe there is something to be said, definately would gain approval from the animal rights people, but PETA (People Eating Tasty Animals) would object.